System and method for displaying risk data in an electronic trading environment

ABSTRACT

An example graphical interface and method for displaying risk related data are described. One example graphical interface includes a data structure comprising a plurality of data nodes and at least one risk data point associated with each node, and further comprises a display grid. The display grid includes one or more cells that are used for displaying selected data nodes and risk data points. Each cell may be associated with a single data node, and may include one or more identifiers corresponding to risk data points of the data node. In one example embodiment, the identifiers are aligned along a single axis, and risk related data corresponding to each identifier is aligned with respect to each corresponding identifier.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/950,916, filed on Sep. 27, 2004, entitled “System and Method forDisplaying Risk Data in an Electronic Trading Environment,” now U.S.Pat. No. 7,739,164, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/680,455, filed on Oct. 7, 2003, entitled “Systemand Method for Risk Grid Display in an Electronic Trading Environment,”now U.S. Pat. No. 7,752,118, the contents of all of which are fullyincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is directed towards electronic trading. Morespecifically, the present invention relates to a system and method forproviding a grid for displaying risk related information such as P/L andnet position, and/or order related information, while permitting a userto easily distinguish and control the displayed values.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, a trend towards electronic trading has becomewell-established, causing one major exchange after another to replace orat least supplement the traditional open outcry, where a trade is doneface to face, with automated electronic systems which automaticallymatch bids and offers. While the motivation behind using electronictrading may vary from market to market, greater efficiency and volumeare some of the considerations.

Electronic trading is generally based on a host exchange, one or morecomputer networks and client devices. An electronic exchange provides amatching process between buyers and sellers. Some well known electronicexchanges include Eurex, London International Financial Futures andOptions Exchange (“LIFFE”), Euronext, Chicago Mercantile Exchange(“CME”), Chicago Board of Trade (“CBOT”), and Xetra. Buyers and sellers,collectively referred to as traders, are typically connected to one ormore electronic exchanges by way of communication links. Traders submitbuy and sell orders to the electronic exchange over the communicationlinks. They also obtain price information and other fill informationfrom the exchange.

An electronic exchange can list any number of tradeable objects. Oftentimes, traders will trade simultaneously in more than one tradeableobject, and they may trade simultaneously tradeable objects that arelisted at more than one exchange. Ordinarily, each tradeable object hasits own electronic market, and therefore, its own separate stream ofmarket information. Therefore, in these instances, the traders willgenerally receive more than one stream of market information such thateach stream of market information attempts to characterize a giventradeable object. In addition to receiving market information fromexchanges, a trader might subscribe to news feeds to receive real-timedata that may assist the trader in making their trading decisions.

As used herein, the term “tradeable object” refers to anything that canbe traded with a quantity and price. For example, tradeable objects mayinclude, but are not limited to, all types of traded financial products,such as, for example, stocks, options, bonds, futures, currency, andwarrants, as well as funds, derivatives, and collections of theforegoing. Moreover, tradeable objects may include all types ofcommodities, such as grains, energy, and metals. Also, a tradeableobject may be “real,” such as products that are listed by an exchangefor trading, or “synthetic,” such as a combination of real products thatis created by the trader. A tradeable object could be actually acombination of other tradeable objects, such as a class of tradeableobjects.

Generally, when a trader submits an order to a host exchange, the hostchecks the conditions associated with the order, such as price andquantity, and prioritizes the order with other orders of the same price.When the order conditions are satisfied in the market, a trade occursand trade information is then relayed in some fashion to one or moreclient devices. In fact, as indicated earlier, a host exchange typicallypublishes a data feed to the client devices so that the traders can haveaccess to the most current market update information.

Also, as trader's orders get filled, a trader typically wishes to viewfill data related to his trades during a trading day, including his netposition, and profit and loss (“P/L”) information that is determinedbased on the received fills. The existing applications for displayingP/L related information and a trader's net position are often limited interms of their utility. It is often cumbersome for a trader to set themup, since they often require a trader to set up different filters to beused for calculating P/L and other risk related values, such as netpositions being held by a trader in relation to a plurality of tradeableobjects. The existing applications are also limiting in terms of howmuch information can be displayed in relation to one window based on theset up filters, and multiple windows may be required to view risk datacorresponding to different account numbers, different tradeable objects,or different currencies, for example. As the number of trader's accountsor tradeable objects being traded by a trader increases, setting of alldesirable filters for each window and viewing all windows that displaytrader's risk data on a computer screen may be difficult or evenimpossible. The burden of configuring such windows and viewing thedisplayed information further multiplies when it is a risk manageradministrator rather than an individual trader who is trying to monitorand manage multiple accounts and/or multiple traders.

It is still desirable for electronic trading applications to offer toolsthat can assist a trader in trading in an electronic tradingenvironment, help making profitable trades in a speedy and accuratemanner, while allowing the trader to conveniently configure and controltrader-related information such as P/L and net position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Example embodiments of the present invention are described herein withreference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an example network configuration for a communication systemutilized to access one or more electronic exchanges;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example client device that canbe used in the example network of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example tree-based data setconfiguration according to one example embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a risk display interfaceincluding a data space and a grid display according to one exampleembodiment;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example system including aplurality of example components that can be used to provide the riskdisplay interfaces described herein;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a first alternative embodiment ofa risk display interface according to one example embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a second alternative embodimentof a risk display interface according to one example embodiment; and

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a third example risk displayinterface according to one example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

I. Risk Related Grid Display

According to example embodiments, a system and method are developed forproviding a display including a grid display interface that displaystrader-related risk information such as P/L and net position relatedinformation. More specifically, the grid display interface allows fordisplay of a large number of data spaces so that a trader can easily andquickly distinguish the displayed data based on any data grouping usedby a trader to create the grid. Also, while the grid display interfaceallows a trader to view a large number of risk data points, it is alsospace-efficient.

The grid display interface also permits for a convenient and effectiveconfiguration and grouping of the displayed data. More specifically, thegrid display interface includes a data space arranged in a tree-baseddata structure including a plurality of data nodes. In the tree-baseddata structures, records are stored in locations called leaf nodes,which are at the end points of a tree branch node that is a sum of allleaf nodes. Also, each branch node may include a plurality of sub-branchnodes, and each sub-branch node may hold a plurality of separate leafnodes. In other words, each node in a tree-based data structure may bethought of as having a specific rank, so that, for example, the leafnodes associated with independent values have the lowest rank, and abranch node that is a sum of at least two other sub-branches or a numberof leaf nodes may have a higher rank, while the tree node that is a sumof all branches has the highest rank of all nodes. In such aconfiguration, a number of lower rank nodes may also be called“children” of another higher rank “parent” node.

For example, as will be described in greater detail below, a branch nodemay correspond to a trader's account or a combination of trader'saccounts, and leaf nodes under the branch node may correspond todifferent tradeable objects that a trader is trading under theaccount(s). If a trader has a number of accounts, the nodescorresponding to different accounts may be considered sub-branches of abranch node corresponding to the sum of all account nodes. The branchnode may then be a part of a group of other branch nodes associated withthe highest rank tree node that is a sum of all values corresponding tothe branch nodes. Using such a tree-based data structure, a trader canquickly and easily locate, place, and manipulate different nodes.

When a user configures the data nodes via the data structure, theselected nodes and risk information corresponding to each selected nodemay be displayed on a display grid. The display grid interface includesat least one display cell for displaying data corresponding to the datanodes. In an example embodiment, a display cell includes a first regionfor displaying identifiers associated with each selected data node to bedisplayed in relation to the display cell. For example, if a data cellis created for a particular trader, the identifiers displayed in thefirst region may correspond to tradeable objects being traded by thattrader. Preferably, the display cell also includes a plurality ofadditional regions that display risk related data corresponding to andaligned with each displayed identifier in the first region. For example,the additional regions may include a positive net position region and anegative net position region to display positive and negative netpositions associated with the tradeable objects corresponding to thetradeable objects' identifiers in the first region. In an exampleembodiment, each region may be displayed in a column format, and therisk data may be displayed in each respective column.

While the present invention is described herein with reference toexample embodiments for particular applications, it should be understoodthat the present invention is not limited thereto. Those having ordinaryskill of art will recognize that many additional modifications andembodiments are possible as well.

II. Hardware and Software Overview

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example trading system 100 inaccordance with the example embodiments. The system 100 includes one ormore exchanges 102, 104, 106 and one or more client devices 108, 110,112. Intermediate devices such as gateways 114, 116, 118, routers (notshown), and other such types of network devices may be used to connectnetwork 120 to networks 122, 124, and 126 so that client devices 108,110, 112 and exchanges 102, 104, 106 can communicate market information.It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to anyparticular system configuration. For example, networks 122, 124, and 126could represent the same network, network 120 could represent the samenetwork as networks 122, 124, and 126, or client devices 108, 110, 112could connect separately to gateways 114, 116, 118. Of course, thepreferred embodiments may be implemented on many other systemconfigurations.

A. Exchange

Any of exchanges 102, 104, 106 may represent, for example, the LondonInternational Financial Futures and Options Exchange (“LIFFE”), theChicago Board of Trade (“CBOT”), the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”),the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (“CME”), the Exchange Electronic Trading(“Xetra,” a German stock exchange), or the European Exchange (“Eurex”),or any other exchange that participates in electronic trading. Exchanges102, 104, 106 might also refer to other facilities, which include basicor more complex systems that automatically match incoming orders. Theseexample exchanges and other exchanges are well known in the art.Communication protocols required for connectivity to one of theseexchanges are also well known in the art.

Exchanges 102, 104, 106 allow traders to log into a market to tradetradeable objects. Once a trader logs into a market and submits anorder, an exchange may process the order using different executionalgorithms, and sometimes the type of algorithm used may depend on thetradeable object being traded. Preferably, the example embodiments canbe adapted by one skilled in the art to work with any order executionalgorithms. Some example order execution algorithms includefirst-in-first-out (“FIFO”) and pro rata algorithms. The FIFO algorithm,used for some tradeable objects listed with Eurex, for example, givespriority to the first person in an order queue at an exchange to placean order. The pro rata algorithm, used for some tradeable objects listedwith LIFFE, for example, splits orders for the same price, and theorders at identical prices are filled in proportion to their size. Thepresent invention is not limited to any particular type of orderexecution algorithm. It should also be understood that the price orderqueue is a term that covers a broad range of systems used by an exchangeto conduct orderly financial transactions such as, for example, a FIFObased system or a pro rata system.

Regardless of the type of order execution algorithm used, each exchange102, 104, and 106 preferably provides similar types of information inmarket updates found in their data feeds to subscribing client devices108, 110, and 112. Market information may include data that representsjust the inside market. The inside market is the lowest sell price (bestask) and the highest buy price (best bid) at a particular point in time.

Market information provided by an exchange may also include marketdepth. Market depth refers to quantities available at the inside marketand can also refer to quantities available at other prices away from theinside market. The quantity available at a given price level is usuallyprovided by the host exchange in aggregate sums. The extent of themarket depth available to a trader usually depends on the exchange. Forinstance, some electronic exchanges provide market depth for all (ormost) price levels, some exchanges provide market depth for a finitenumber of price levels, while some exchanges provide only quantitiesassociated with the inside market, and others may provide no marketdepth at all. Additionally, exchanges 102, 104, 106 can offer othertypes of market information, for example, the last traded price (“LTP”),the last traded quantity (“LTQ”), the total traded quantity (“TTQ”), andorder fill information. It should be understood that the presentinvention is not limited to receiving and analyzing a data feedconsisting of market updates. One skilled in the art would recognizeupon reading the description herein that the present invention hasutility in any trading application where any particular type of datafeed is provided.

B. Gateway

Gateways 114, 116, and 118 are devices such as a mainframe, superminicomputer, workstation, or microcomputer that connect network 120 tonetworks 122, 124, 126 so that market information can be successfullypassed between client devices 108, 110, 112 and exchanges 102, 104, 106.Gateways 114, 116, 118 receive market information from exchanges 102,104, 106 and convert it to a form compatible with the protocols used byclient devices 108, 110, 112 using conversion techniques known in theart. Also, as known by those skilled in the art, gateways 114, 116, and118 may have one or more servers to support the data feeds, such as aprice server for processing price information, an order server forprocessing order information, and a fill server for processing fillinformation. A trader at one of client devices 108, 110, and 112 cansubscribe to price information, order information, and fill informationfor a particular market hosted at exchanges 102, 104, 106. Gateways 114,116, 118 also receive transaction information, such as orders, orderchanges, queries, etc., from client devices 108, 110, 112 and forwardthat information to corresponding exchanges 102, 104, and 106.

C. Client Device

Client devices 108, 110, 112 are devices that provide an interface fortraders to trade at one or more markets listed with one, some, or all ofexchanges 102, 104, 106. Some examples of client devices include apersonal computer, laptop computer, hand-held computer, and so forth.Client devices 108, 110, 112, according to the preferred embodiments,include at least a processor and memory. The processor and memory, whichare both well-known computer components, are not shown in the Figure forsake of clarity. Preferably, the processor has enough processing powerto handle and process various types of market information. Of course,the more market information is received and processed, the moreprocessing power is preferred. However, any present day processor hasenough capability to perform at least the most basic part of the presentinventions.

Memory may include a computer readable medium. The term computerreadable medium, as used herein, refers to any medium that participatesin providing instructions to a processor unit for execution. Such amedium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatilemedia, and transmission media. Non-volatile media include, for example,optical or magnetic disks, such as storage devices. Volatile mediainclude dynamic memory, such as main memory or random access memory(“RAM”). Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example,floppy disks, flexible disks, hard disks, magnetic tape, punch cards, orany other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punchcards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, aRAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, and any other memory chip orcartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can read.

Client devices 108, 110, 112 receive market information from any ofexchanges 102, 104, 106. According to the preferred embodiment, marketinformation is displayed to the trader(s) on the visual output device ordisplay device of client devices 108, 110, 112. The output device can beany type of display. For example, the display could be a CRT-based videodisplay, an LCD-based or a gas plasma-based flat-panel display, adisplay that shows three-dimensional images, or some other type ofdisplay. The present invention is not limited to any particular type ofdisplay.

Upon viewing the market information or a portion thereof, a trader maywish to send orders to an exchange, cancel orders in a market, changeorders in a market, query an exchange, and so on. To do so, the tradermay input various commands or signals into the client device 104, forexample, by typing into a keyboard, inputting commands through a mouse,or inputting commands or signals through some other input device. Uponreceiving one or more commands or signals, client devices 108, 110, 112preferably generate transaction information. For instance, a trader mayclick a mouse button to initiate an order to buy a tradeable object.Then, transaction information would include an order to buy a particularquantity of the tradeable object at a particular price. There are manydifferent types of messages and/or order types that can be submitted,all of which may be considered various types of transaction information.Once generated, transaction information is sent from client device 104to host exchange 102 over network(s) 120, 122, 124, 126.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example client device 200which may be similar to the type of client devices 108, 110, and 112shown in FIG. 1. The client device 200 can be any particular type ofcomputing device, examples of which were enumerated above with respectto the client device. According to the preferred embodiments, the clientdevice 200 has a trading application 202 stored in memory that, whenexecuted, arranges and displays market information in many particularways, usually depending on how the trader prefers to view theinformation. The trading application 202 may also implement thepreferred embodiments described herein. Alternatively, the preferredembodiments described herein may occur elsewhere such as outside of thetrading application 202 on the client device 200, on a gateway, or onsome other computing device. Preferably, the trading application 202 hasaccess to market information through an API 204 (or applicationprogramming interface), or the trading application 202 could alsoforward transaction information to the exchange 210 via the API 204.Alternatively, the API 204 could be distributed so that a portion of theAPI rests on the client device 200 and a gateway, or at the exchange210. Additionally, the trading application 202 may receive signals froman input device 212 via an input device interface 206, and can be giventhe ability to send signals to a display device 214 via a display deviceinterface 208.

The trading application 202 can be any commercially available tradingapplication that allows a user to trade is X_TRADER® from TradingTechnologies International, Inc. of Chicago, Ill. X_TRADER® alsoprovides an electronic trading interface, referred to as MD Trader™, inwhich working orders and/or bid and ask quantities are displayed inassociation with a static axis of prices. However, the preferredembodiments are not limited to any particular product that performstranslation, storage and display functions.

Portions of the X_TRADER® and the MD Trader™-style display are describedin U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,132, entitled “Click Based Trading With IntuitiveGrid Display of Market Depth,” filed on Jun. 9, 2000, and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/971,087, entitled “Click Based Trading WithIntuitive Grid Display of Market Depth and Price Consolidation,” filedon Oct. 5, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,127,424, and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/125,894, entitled “Trading Tools for ElectronicTrading,” filed on Apr. 19, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,389,268, thecontents of each are incorporated herein by reference.

III. Risk Information Grid Display

A system and method are developed that provide a display including aspace-efficient grid display interface that displays trader-related riskinformation, such as P/L and net position. The grid display interfaceallows for display of a large number of data spaces so that a trader caneasily and quickly distinguish the displayed data based on any datagrouping used by a trader to create the grid. The example grid displayinterfaces are also easily configurable and space-efficient.

Before any data is displayed via a grid display interface, a trader or asystem administrator may create a data space including a number of datasets to be later mapped to the grid display. It should be understoodthat the present invention is not limited to a single data space and asingle grid display, and more than one data space and the correspondinggrid displays could be created based on the trader's preferences.According to an example embodiment, the data space is arranged in atree-based data structure. A tree-based data structure is used forplacing and locating files or folders that are placed in a database. Thetree-based structure finds data by repeatedly making choices at decisionpoints called nodes, including the highest rank tree node, lower rankbranch nodes, sub-branch nodes, and leaf nodes, which have the lowestrank. Also, each node can be associated with a number of sub-nodes orbranches, and a user can move, add, and delete nodes in a tree datastructure until a desired tree configuration is created.

Each node in a tree-based data structure includes values. Based on thetree-data configuration, the highest rank tree node is a sum of valuesassociated with all branches that are held by the tree node. Then,similarly, each branch node is a sum of values associated with allsub-branch nodes or leaf nodes that are held by the branch node. In oneexample embodiment described herein, a node in a tree-based datastructure may track P/L and net position values associated with atradeable object, a trader, or a group of traders depending on the ranklevel of the node. For example, the highest rank tree node may beassociated with an overall net position, and/or profit relatedinformation of a trader or a group of traders who trade at one or moreelectronic exchanges. Then, each branch node under the tree node maycorrespond to a different trader having a net position and P/L beingtracked by the tree node. Then, sub-branch nodes may be associated witha number of account sub-branch nodes corresponding to different accountsbeing used by the trader of the branch node. Finally, the sub-branchaccount node may be associated with a number of leaf nodes correspondingto different tradeable objects being traded under the account associatedwith the sub-branch node.

It should be understood that two or more tradeable object nodes couldalso be combined to represent an overall P/L and net position associatedwith the selected tradeable object nodes. Such implementation may beespecially useful when a trader wishes to view an overall P/L value anda net position for a spread including two or more tradeable objectsbeing traded as the spread. Also, it should be understood that groupingof fill data could also be based on different criteria. For example,branch nodes may correspond to different exchanges. In such aconfiguration, a first set of sub-branch nodes corresponding to aspecific exchange may be associated with different traders who trade atthat exchange, and then each sub-branch node corresponding to a tradermay be associated with second sub-branch nodes corresponding to eachaccount being used by the trader to trade at the specific exchange.Then, the sub-branch account nodes may be associated with a number ofleaf nodes corresponding to different tradeable objects being tradedunder each account. It should be understood that any number ofsub-branch levels could be used in a tree-based data structure, and auser can create additional sub-branches by merging two or more nodesinto a higher rank node. For example, if a trader uses two or moreaccounts to trade at the same or different exchanges, a trader may mergethe account nodes corresponding to the selected accounts into anothernode that will represent a combined P/L value and a combined netposition of the merged accounts.

Also, it should be understood that the tree-based data configurationdescribed above is only one example configuration, and a trader maydecide to create a tree-based data structure based on differentcategories or based on different node groupings. For example, ratherthan having the highest ranked nodes correspond to an exchange, or to agroup of individual traders, another tree-based data structure may becreated where the highest rank branch nodes are based on differentcurrencies, such as Dollar ($), Euro (

), Yen (¥), or Pound (£), for example, or any other currency in whichtradeable objects are traded by one or more traders. In such anembodiment, each currency branch node may be associated with a number ofsub-branch nodes corresponding to accounts that are used by a trader ora group of traders to trade tradeable objects in the defined currency.Each account sub-node may in turn be associated with another set of itsown sub-branch nodes corresponding to each tradeable object being tradedin the defined currency. Also, if the currency-based tree configurationis created for a number of traders, nodes corresponding to the firstsub-branch may correspond to each trader who trades in the definedcurrency, and then a node corresponding to each trader may be associatedwith another sub-branch including a number of sub-nodes corresponding tothe trader's accounts that in turn may include one or more nodescorresponding to tradeable object(s) being traded under the respectiveaccounts.

In an alternative embodiment, nodes in a tree-based data structure maybe grouped based on contract expiration dates. Under such animplementation, a tree node or a branch node corresponding to the frontmonths may be associated with a number of sub-branch nodes correspondingto the tradeable objects having expiration dates during one of the frontmonths defined for the branch node. Similarly, a branch nodecorresponding to the back months may be associated with a sub-branchcorresponding to a number of sub-nodes created for tradeable objectshaving expiration dates during the back months. Also, under such animplementation, a trader may wish to combine sub-nodes such that a lowernumber of sub-nodes are grouped together. For example, a trader may wishto view a combined P/L and a combined net position for contracts thatexpire in September and October, rather than viewing such values foreach month separately.

Also, according to an example embodiment, values in each node aredynamically updated based on fill information being received from one ormore electronic exchanges. In such an embodiment, when a fill isreceived, the fill is built into one or more trees. For example, in anexchange-account-tradeable object tree-based data structure, a fill maybe first matched to a specific exchange, then one of the accounts, andthen to a specific tradeable object. Alternatively, in a currency-basedtree, a received fill may be matched to a specific currency in which atradeable object is traded and then to any other node corresponding tosub-branches.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a tree-based data setconfiguration 300 according to one example embodiment. The tree-baseddata set 300 illustrates an account/trader/tradeable objectconfiguration. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the highest rank tree node ofthe tree-based data set configuration 300 corresponds to an overallaccount node 302 including a plurality of branch nodes corresponding toa number of traders. Such a configuration may be useful when a riskmanager administrator wishes to view overall risk information, such asP/L and net position-related information, for a group of traders, aswell as risk information corresponding to each individual trader who isbeing managed by the risk manager administrator.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, there are five branch nodes 304, 306, 308,310, and 312 corresponding to five traders, Traders 1-5, who are tradingunder the combined account corresponding to a node 302. Also, eachbranch trader node corresponding to an individual trader is associatedwith a number of sub-branch nodes created for tradeable objects beingtraded by the trader. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the node 304associated with the first trader includes three sub-branch nodescorresponding to three individual tradeable objects: “jFCE Aug03,” “ZFSep03,” and “ZN Sep03,” and an additional sub-branch level node createdfor a spread “FDAX/FESX,” where each individual tradeable object in thespread has a separate sub-node as well. Similar tradeable object nodesare created for other traders. For example, the branch node 308corresponds to three sub-branch nodes associated with three tradeableobjects “FESX Sep03,” “FGBL Sep03,” and “ZN Sep03.” Also, each tradermay use different accounts to trade tradeable objects being offered atdifferent electronic exchanges, for example. In such an embodiment, thetradeable objects may be grouped under separate sub-branchescorresponding to the accounts associated with each tradeable object.

Using the tree-based data structure illustrated in FIG. 3, a trader mayquickly locate, add, or reconfigure, or perform other changes, such ascombining, moving, inserting, or merging, the created nodes. In oneembodiment, a number of functional selections may be automaticallydisplayed to a trader upon detecting a predetermined user input. Forexample, a selection of an “Edit” icon may result in displaying of apull down menu that lists a number of available functional selections,such as to “Add a new node,” “Delete an existing node,” “Clear all,”etc. Also, when a new node is created, a trader may drag it to a desiredlocation in the tree-based data structure. For example, a new node maybe created for a new account, a new tradeable object, or a combinationof tradeable objects. Then, a trader or a risk manager administrator maydrag such a node and drop it in a desired location in the tree-baseddata structure. Also, other nodes may be moved under the newly creatednode. For example, two sub-nodes may be initially created for twotradeable objects being traded as a spread. Then, another node may becreated to correspond to a sum of P/L values of the two tradeableobjects. In such an embodiment, once a new node is created for thespread, a trader may drag each sub-node corresponding to the individualtradeable objects under the sub-node created for the spread.

In an example embodiment, the graphical interface includes a datastructure, such as a tree-based data structure, and a display interface,such as a grid-type display. The data structure shows the form of thedata to be displayed, and the grid-type display shows actual datacorresponding to each point in the data structure. Once a traderconfigures a data space, each or some elements of the data space arepreferably mapped to a display interface. According to one exampleembodiment, a trader may select data to be mapped to the displayinterface. In a tree-based data structure configuration, a trader mayselect specific nodes, and the values corresponding to the selectednodes may be displayed via the interface. The selection of the specificnodes may be accomplished by selecting particular branches of the tree.For example, referring to FIG. 3, a trader may control which nodes areselected for display by simply opening and closing a foldercorresponding to each node. In such an embodiment, when a trader opens afolder corresponding to one of the higher rank nodes, such as a nodecorresponding to Trader 1, for example, the sub-nodes corresponding tothe Trader 1 node are displayed via the interface 300. In such anembodiment, every node and a sub-node displayed via the data space maybe automatically displayed on a display interface. Alternatively, atrader may drag and drop the selected nodes from a data space to adisplay interface. However, it should be understood that differentmethods could also be used to select which values corresponding tospecific nodes are displayed via the display interface.

In addition to creating and selecting nodes to be displayed via adisplay interface, a trader may select a format of the displayinterface. For example, the display interface may have a grid displayformat. In such an embodiment, the data space corresponding to each nodemay be thought of as arranged in an X by Y data matrix that is thenmapped to a display data grid such that the values corresponding to eachnode are mapped to a cell in a display grid. Therefore, the display datagrid may be an interface with X rows and Y columns that form a number ofcells. It should be understood that the display data grid may be astatic space with a predetermined number of rows and columns.Alternatively, the data grid display may be dynamic in terms of changinga number of rows and columns based on user's selection of nodes to bedisplayed via the grid display interface. However, it should beunderstood that the display is not limited to a two-dimensional grid,and three-dimensional grid displays could also be used, where the heightof a cell or a portion thereof may indicate the current P/L value, forexample.

It should be understood that any layout of the nodes corresponding to atree-based data structure could be used. For example, main branch nodesmay be displayed in a selected column or row, and then leaf nodescorresponding to a branch node may be displayed in relation to a rowcorresponding to a location in which the branch node is displayed.Alternatively, a user could manually drag selected nodes from atree-based data structure onto a display grid. Further, alternatively,only problematic nodes, such as nodes corresponding to a critically lowP/L value or too high net position could be displayed via the displaygrid. Also, a number of display grids could be created for a single datastructure, where each grid may display nodes selected based on differentcriteria. It should be understood that display types described inreference to different figures could be combined so that some of thecells can be of a format described in relation to the subsequent FIG. 4,and other cells could have the format described in relation to FIG. 5,6, or 7.

Each data node in a tree based data structure may be associated withtrader related risk data. Additionally, each leaf node corresponding toa predetermined tradeable object may be associated with order relateddata, such as fills, partial fills, working order data, or any otheruser-selected data. As mentioned in earlier paragraphs, the valuescorresponding to each node that are displayed via a grid data displayinterface may be dynamically updated based on fill updates beingreceived from one or more exchanges. In one embodiment, when the valuescorresponding to the created nodes are updated based on the receivedfill data, the grid cells corresponding to the updated nodes may beautomatically populated with the updated values. It should be understoodthat a trader or a system administrator may select the types of data tobe displayed via each grid cell. For example, as will be shown inreference to FIG. 4, the displayed data may include risk data, such asP/L related data including the highest, lowest, or current P/L values,as well as net position related information for a single trader or agroup of traders. However, it should be understood that the grid displayinterface could also display different types of node-related risk data.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a risk display interface 400including a data space 402 and a grid display 404 according to oneexample embodiment. While FIG. 4, as well as subsequent Figures,illustrates interfaces including a data space and a grid display, thetwo could be alternatively displayed separately, such as using separatewindows. The data space 402 has been described in reference to FIG. 3.The grid display 404 is a two-dimensional grid arranged in a number ofrows and columns that form grid cells, and each cell in the grid display404 corresponds to a single node or a sub-node in the tree-based dataspace 402.

The risk data corresponding to each selected node in the tree-based dataspace 402 is displayed via a number of cells on the grid displayinterface 404. More specifically, the risk data corresponding to eachselected node is mapped to cells of the grid display interface 404. Inone embodiment, risk data corresponding to the highest ranked nodes,such as the nodes corresponding to each main account, are displayed incells of the first column of the grid display 404, and the lower rankedsub-nodes corresponding to each main account node are displayed in therows corresponding to their respective account nodes. Based on suchconfiguration, the account node (“ACCT”) corresponding to a sum of allaccount nodes associated with five traders, as well as the highestranked nodes associated with each of the five traders, such as Trader 1,Trader 2, Trader 3, Trader 4, and Trader 5, are mapped to cells in thefirst column. Then, sub-nodes corresponding to different accounts ordifferent tradeable objects associated with each respective trader maybe displayed to the right of the cell corresponding to the main accountnode of that trader. For example, the main node associated with Trader 2(“TRAD 2”) is mapped to the first column and the third row in the griddisplay interface 404, and each sub-node, such as sub-nodes FGBL Sep03and ZN Sep03, corresponding to the tradeable objects being trader byTrader 2, are mapped to cells along the row corresponding to the main,highest rank TRAD 2 node associated with Trader 2.

Each data cell displays risk data associated with the correspondingnode. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the displayed risk dataincludes, as shown in column 412, the highest P/L (“H”), the lowest P/L(“L”), current P/L (“$”), and the current net position (“P”). It shouldbe understood that the P/L may correspond to any user-configurable P/Ltype, such as net, realized, or open P/L. For example, the realized P/Lmay be calculated based on the executed sells and buys, such asSells−Buys. Then, the net P/L may be calculated based on the executedsells and buys modified by the trader's net position and the currentmarket position, e.g., (Sells−Buys)+(Net Position×Market Price). Then,the open P/L may be calculated based on the net P/L and the realizedP/L, such as (Net P/L−Realized P/L). It should be understood that thetrader may select any of the P/L types to be displayed via the griddisplay. It should be understood that risk related data to be displayedin relation to each cell are not limited to the data described above,and different risk data types could also be presented, such as workingorder quantities, partial fills, margin information, or any otherstatistical data determined based on any user-defined equations. Forexample, a trader may wish to view an average P/L value determined for auser-specified time period.

Referring back to FIG. 4, the “ACCT” grid cell 414 is a sum of theaccounts associated with five traders and will be used as a reference todefine different types of data that can be displayed via each grid cell.The grid cell 414 displays the highest P/L value of $1342.68, the lowestP/L value of −$1707, and the current P/L value of $666.61. Then, the netposition indicator “P” defines the net position as “Open.” The Openposition indicates that at least one of the five traders has a non-zeronet position for at least one of the tradeable objects being traded bythat trader. It should be understood that the net position may becalculated based on current executed buys and sells, such as Sells−Buys.However, it should be understood that the net position can be calculatedin many different ways, for example. It should be understood that a usercan control what type of Net Position or P/L is displayed via the P/Lgrid. In one embodiment, the grid may alternatively display netpositions and/or P/L values calculated based on different formulas uponreceiving predetermined user selection inputs. For example, oneselection input may cause the P/L grid to display the Realized P/L andthe Net Position calculated based on Sells and Buys, while anotherselection input may cause the P/L grid to display the Open P/L and theNet Position calculated based on working buy and sell orders in additionto executed buys and sells.

In one example embodiment, the higher ranked nodes don't includespecific values corresponding to net positions, but rather indicatewhether some of the sub-nodes are associated with non-zero netpositions. Using the grid display 404, a system administrator mayquickly determine which traders have non-zero net positions by simplyexamining the grid cells under the ACCT cell 414. As illustrated in FIG.4, Traders 1, 2, and 4 have non-zero net positions. The systemadministrator may then refer to grid cells corresponding to each traderto determine specific net position values corresponding to one or moretradeable objects being traded by each trader. For example, Trader 1holds net positions of −9 and 9 for two tradeable objects being tradedby Trader 1, jFCE Aug and FESX, respectively, and Trader 2 holds netpositions of −1 and 1 for tradeable objects FGBL Sep03 and ZN Sep03.Then, Trader 4 holds net positions of −2 and 6 for tradeable objectsFDAX Sep03 and FESX Sep03.

However, it should be understood that the “closed” and “open” indicatorcould also be used to indicate other quantities. For example, the openindicator and the closed indicator could be used to indicate if a spreadis hedged. In such an embodiment, one or more functions could be used todetermine if contracts underlying a spread are hedged. For example, if aspread ratio for two contracts being spread is 1:1, and net positions ofthe two contracts are 9 and −9, the display cell created for the spreadmay display the “closed” indicator. In such an embodiment, a trader maywish to have two different indicators to be displayed, one indicatorbased on net positions associated with the underlying contracts andanother indicator defining whether the contracts are hedged or not.

In addition to displaying numerical values, P/L could be also displayedgraphically. FIG. 4 displays the P/L values using a thermometer typedisplay which displays the current P/L value relative to the high andlow P/L values. Referring to the ACCT grid cell 414, the indicator 408corresponds to the zero P/L value. Then, bars 406 and 410 represent thecurrent P/L value in relation to the highest and lowest P/L values,respectively. More specifically, the top of the bar 406 corresponds tothe highest P/L value since the beginning of a trading session, and thebottom of the bar 406 corresponds to the current P/L value. Similarly,the top of the bar 410 corresponds to the current P/L value, and thebottom of the bar 410 corresponds to the lowest P/L value since thebeginning of the trading session. Similarly to dynamically updating thenumerical P/L values in each cell upon detecting a change in P/L valuesbeing calculated for each data node, the thermometer bar levels would bedynamically updated to reflect P/L increases and decreases.

Also, in one example embodiment, the tree-based data structure 402automatically generates a new node upon detecting a new account or a newtradeable object being traded by one of the traders being managed by asystem administrator, for example. When a new node is created, the griddisplay interface 404 could also automatically display P/L and netposition values corresponding to the newly created node in one of thegrid cells. The newly created grid cell could be displayed in anyarbitrary and available location on the display grid interface 404, andcould be color-coded such that it could be easily distinguished fromother cells. Then, a trader or a risk administrator could easily mergethe newly created node with another node in a tree-based data structure,such as a node corresponding to a trader's account under which thetrader is trading the tradeable object.

FIG. 4 displays P/L values using the thermometer graph display; however,it should be understood that different graph types could also be used,and the example embodiments are not limited to the thermometer typedisplay. In an alternative embodiment, each or some grid cells couldinclude graphical charts of historical P/L values, or any other traderrelated data. Such graphical charts could be configured to transparentlyoverlay the numerical values displayed in each cell, or could bedisplayed in the selected portion of a grid cell.

Also, values displayed via each grid cell could be color-coded based onany user preferences. For example, the current P/L values could becolor-coded, and different colors could be selected based on whether theP/L value is positive or negative. In one embodiment, a green colorcould be used to color-code a positive P/L value, and a red color couldbe used to color-code a negative P/L value. Also, different colors couldbe used to represent a positive net position and a negative netposition. Similarly, the bars 406 and 410 corresponding to the graphicalrepresentation of the P/L values could be color coded to differentiaterelative values and to allow a system administrator or an individualtrader to quickly assess the displayed P/L data. For example, the topbar 406 corresponding to the P/L loss could be red, and the bottom bar410 corresponding to the P/L gain could be green. Also, in addition tocolor coding the values displayed in each grid cell, a trader or asystem administrator could configure each cell such that some of thevalues or the entire cell may start flashing upon detecting apredetermined condition associated with one or more displayed values.For example, a grid cell or a value corresponding to the current P/Lcould start flashing or change colors upon detecting that the P/L hasreached a pre-defined low level.

Also, it should be understood that the example embodiments are notlimited to the grid display layout illustrated in FIG. 4, and differentdisplay configurations could be used as well. As described earlier, atrader or a risk manager administrator can select nodes that will bemapped to grid cells of the display grid. For example, only the highestrank nodes corresponding to each trader may be selected for display viathe grid display so that a risk manager administrator may have anoverall view of P/L and net position levels of all traders. Also, thehighest rank nodes may be displayed horizontally, vertically, or at anyangle selected by a trader or a risk manager administrator. Then, if aP/L corresponding to one of the displayed cells reaches an alarming lowlevel, the risk administrator may decide to view the sub-nodescorresponding to the node associated with the problematic cell byexpanding the number of the displayed sub-nodes. In another embodiment,the nodes displayed on the display grid can be automatically sorted,such as based on an alphabetical order, or based on some other criteria,such as by a contract date, by profit, loss, or net position being heldin relation to each contract. For example, a system administrator maywish to be alerted which of the traders are associated with the highestloss. To do that, the system administrator may wish to view the nodescorresponding to the highest loss traders in the top row of the display.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a system 500 including aplurality of example components that can be used to provide the riskdisplay interfaces described herein. The components described inrelation to the system 500 can be located at the client device, gateway,or could be distributed among a plurality of computer-based or networkentities. In addition, the functionality provided by the components canbe integrated into the X_TRADER® available from Trading TechnologiesInternational, Inc. of Chicago, Ill. The system 500 includes a datacontrol application 502 and a display control application 504. The datacontrol application 502 includes a tree data calculation module 506. Thedisplay application 504 includes a tree view layout module 508 and atree detail view layout module 510. It should be understood that themodules described herein can be distributed or grouped together, and theexample embodiments are not limited to any specific configuration.

The tree data calculation module 506 has access to and receives marketinformation from one or more host exchanges 518 via an API 516, such asan X_TRADER® API available from Trading Technologies International. Inan embodiment where a risk information grid display is used by a systemadministrator who monitors activities of multiple traders, some of thosetraders may begin trading at different times. In such an embodiment, thetree data calculation module 506 may automatically detect when thetraders start trading based on any fill data being received from the API516. Upon detecting a new trader joining a trading session or one of theactive traders starting to trade a new product, the data calculationmodule 506 may automatically start processing data associated with thattrader and alert the display application 504 of the new tree node beingadded. For example, the data calculation module 506 may send a signal tothe display application 504 to generate a new node to be added to thetree-based data structure and a new node to be displayed on a displaygrid. In the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, the tree viewlayout module 508 may create a new node to the tree-based data structureso that a trader can see that new data has been detected, and the treedetail view layout module 510 may create a new data cell to be displayedon the display grid or any other display type being used by a trader.The tree-based data structure as well as the display grid can bedisplayed via the display device 514, such as a monitor or any otherdisplay means being used. In the example embodiment, the tree datacalculation module 506 provides any calculated risk data to the treedetail view layout module 510 that can map the received data to specificcells on the display grid. It should be understood that the tree detailview layout module 510 can dynamically and continuously update any riskrelated data being displayed in relation to the cells on the displaygrid based on updates that are received from the tree data calculationmodule 502.

As mentioned in reference to the preceding figures, a user could alsomanipulate any nodes being displayed in relation to the display grid ora tree-based data structure. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, auser could manipulate the display or the data structure via a user inputinterface 512. When the user manipulates the tree based data structure,the user input may be processed by the tree view layout module 508. Themanipulation of the tree based data structure may include adding newnodes, merging nodes, deleting nodes, or other operations. The tree viewlayout module 508 may change the tree based data structure to reflectthe change as well as provide a signal to the tree detail view layoutmodule 510 to change the display grid to reflect the change made in thetree data structure. For example, if a user decides to merge two nodes,while still wishing to view data related to the two separate nodes, thetree detail view layout module 510 may create a new node and positionthe new node on the grid based on any user preconfigured node positionpreferences. It should be understood that a trader could control whetherthe two individual nodes will be displayed in relation to the newlycreated combined node. Also, the tree view layout module 508 may send asignal to the tree data calculation module 506, and the signal mayinclude information related to the newly added node. Then, the treedetail view layout module 510 may then start calculating data andproviding the calculated data to the tree detail view layout module 510for the newly created node.

IV. Alternative Risk Information Grid Displays

FIG. 6 is an example view of a display of an alternative embodiment. Therisk display interface 600 includes a data space 602 and a display grid604. The data space 602 consists of a tree-based data set with aplurality of data nodes representing a plurality of risk data points,the details of which have been described in reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.The data space 602 also provides the ability to select and group thedata nodes based on user preferences.

In the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, the display grid 604includes a plurality of display cells 606-614 corresponding to five riskdata points (nodes) created for five traders, Trader 1-Trader 5. Also,rather than using a separate display cell for each tradeable objectbeing traded by a trader, such as in the example embodiment illustratedin FIG. 4, each cell in FIG. 6 displays combined risk data setsassociated with the sub-nodes corresponding to the node for which thecell has been created. In the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6,the indicators corresponding to the sub-nodes (tradeable objects, inthis example) are aligned along a single common axis, and risk datacorresponding to each sub-node is aligned with the respectiveidentifier. Thus, for example, the first cell 606 of the display grid604 displays risk data associated with five tradeable objects beingtraded by Trader 1. However, similarly to the embodiment described inreference to FIG. 4, a user could control which set of risk data nodesand sub-nodes are displayed in relation to the cells by closing/openingfolders displayed in relation to the three-based data structure 602. Itshould be understood that different selection methods could also beused, such as using a copy function, dragging and dropping the selectednodes onto the grid display, and many others.

In one preferred embodiment, each cell includes a plurality of regionsthat display risk related information corresponding to each data pointselected in relation to the higher rank sub-node. In the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 6, data displayed in each region is displayed inrelation to a common price axis, so that, for example, identifierscorresponding to each sub-node, are displayed along a vertical axis, andrisk data associated with each sub-node is aligned with the respectiveidentifier being used for the sub-node. While, FIG. 6 illustrates anembodiment using a vertical orientation, different orientations arepossible as well. For example, the identifiers could be displayedhorizontally, and the respective risk data could be displayed on top andbottom of each respective identifier. Each data cell in FIG. 6 includesthree regions arranged in columns, such as columns 616, 618, and 620 inthe display cell 608. The second column 616 displays a plurality ofidentifiers associated with tradeable objects being traded by Trader 2,and the first column 618 displays long net positions, while the thirdcolumn 620 displays short net positions. As illustrated in FIG. 6, thenet position values correspond to and are aligned with each tradeableobject identifier displayed in relation to the column 616, thus,allowing a system administrator to easily assess the net positions beingheld by Traders 1-5 in relation to each tradeable object. As generallyillustrated at 622, each cell could also display a total P/L levelcalculated for a group of tradeable objects displayed in relation toeach cell (not shown). In addition to displaying the total P/L valuescalculated for a group of tradeable object corresponding to each cell,another P/L value could be displayed that corresponds to a total P/Lvalue calculated based on P/L values corresponding to the plurality ofdisplay cells. Such a P/L value that is a sum of the P/L values at 622is displayed at 624, and in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6 isequal to 666.61.

It should be understood that the displayed cells are not limited to anynumber of entries, and the size of each cell may be automaticallyincreased or decreased as the number of entries increases/decreases. Inthe embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, the size of each cell in theillustrated row of cells is controlled by the size of the cell havingthe highest number of entries, such as the cell 606, which then resultsin some empty space left in relation to other cells, such as, inrelation to the cells 608-614. However, alternatively, the number ofentries corresponding to each cell may control the size of each cell,and the size of each cell may be automatically increased/decreased asthe new entries are added/removed, such as, in this example, when one ofthe traders starts trading a new tradeable object. Also, the displaygrid is not limited to any number of display cells, and more or fewercells could also be displayed as well. In the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 6, additional cells could be displayed in relation to another rowof cells, such as below or above the illustrated cells.

Also, similarly to the embodiments described in relation to the earlierfigures, the risk related data, such as net positions and P/L values,displayed in relation to the plurality of display cells 606-614 arepreferably dynamically updated based on market data updates that arereceived from one or more exchanges so that the most up to dateinformation can be displayed in relation to the display grid 604. Itshould be understood that a user may configure the types of risk relateddata to be displayed in relation to each display cell, and the exampleembodiments are not limited to displaying net position and P/L data, aswill be described in relation to the subsequent figure.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating yet another alternativeembodiment of a risk display interface 700. The risk display interface700 includes a data space 702 and a display grid 704. The data space 702consists of a tree-based data set and includes a plurality of data nodesrepresenting a plurality of risk data points.

The display grid 704 includes a plurality of display cells 706-714corresponding to the five risk data nodes. Also, rather than displayingthe display cells in a row arrangement, such as illustrated in FIG. 7,the display cells 706-714 are displayed in a column format, and eachcell includes risk data corresponding to the selected data nodes. Eachdata node includes a plurality of regions, such as a working buy orderscolumn 716, a positive net position column 718, a tradeable objectidentifier column 720, a negative net position column 722, a workingsell orders column 724, and a P/L column 726, all illustrated inrelation to the display cell 706. Also, the display of tradeable objectsis controlled so that the tradeable objects are displayed in the orderof their expiration times. For example, referring to the cell 706, thetradeable objects ZT, ZF, ZN, and ZB are “2,” “3,” “5,” and “10” yearcontracts, respectively. The risk data corresponding to the tradeableobjects are aligned with the corresponding tradeable object identifiers.For example, referring to the display cell 706, the first tradeableobject corresponding to the tradeable object identifier “ZT” isassociated with the net position of −9, the P/L level of −1395.37, and 5working buy orders. In addition to displaying the P/L values for eachtradeable object, a total P/L value could also be displayed in relationto each cell, such as, for example, the total P/L level displayed at 728and corresponding to a sum of P/L levels of all tradeable objects in thedisplay cell 706. However, it should be understood that different typesof risk data could be displayed in relation to each cell as well.

Some of the tradeable object identifiers displayed in the display cellsmay correspond to a spread being traded by a trader. Spread tradingenables a trader to hedge against market losses should the market moveagainst that trader's position. Essentially, hedging is a tradingstrategy that is made to reduce the risk of adverse price movement bytaking an offsetting position in a related commodity. Spread trading ingeneral is a style of trading that allows traders to limit the risk ofthe positions they take in the commodities by trading comparablecommodities at comparable levels.

In one example embodiment, when the display cells include tradeableobject indicators corresponding to one or more spreads, the displaycells may indicate whether the net position corresponding to each spreadleg is hedged or unhedged. For example, the net position displayed inrelation to each cell may be highlighted to indicate that at least someof the quantity associated with the displayed net position is unhedged.However, it should be understood that different graphical indicatorscould be displayed in relation to the net positions to indicate thatsome of the quantity may be unhedged. Also, different indicators ordifferent colors (such as color intensity) could be used to indicatedifferent degrees of the position being unhedged. Further,alternatively, a user may wish to hear audio alerts whenever one or moreof his spreads are unhedged. For example, if the spread ratio is 5:3,and the quantities corresponding to the spread legs are 50 and 30, thequantities are hedged. However, if the spread is not balanced, such aswhen the quantities corresponding to the spread legs are 50 and 40, forexample, the quantity of 10 is an unhedged quantity. In such anembodiment, the quantity of 40, when displayed in the net positioncolumn in the display cell, may be highlighted using a predetermineduser-configurable color, for example, to indicate that a portion of thequantity is unhedged.

According to one example embodiment, the trading application 202 can beused to determine whether the contracts underlying a spread are hedgedor not. The trading application 202 can do that based on any finiteratios, or any user-configured formulas. Also, a user could definecertain tolerances, in the form of ratios or percentages, that can beused by the trading application 202 to determine if the contracts arehedged. For example, ratios 10:7 and 10:6 may be used by the tradingapplication 202 to conclude that the contracts are hedged. However,different variations are possible as well, and the example embodimentscan be also applied in relation to spreads having more than twounderlying contracts.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating another example risk displayinterface 800 that can be used to display risk related information forone or more traders. The display interface 800 displays P/L relateddata, including current, high, and low P/L values, for a number oftraders including Traders 1-6. However, it should be understood that theinterface 800 could also display risk related data associated with nodesother than those related to the specific traders, such as accountrelated data or tradeable object related data. The graphical interface800 displays numerical values for the current P/L 808, the low P/L 810,and the high P/L 812 during a trading day. It should be understood thatthe high and low P/L values are not limited to the entire trading day,and the P/L values could be tracked for periods shorter or longer thanthe entire trading day. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the highP/L level for Trader 1 is $4,200, and the low P/L level is $250. Also,the current P/L level for Trader 1 is $2,500. It should be understoodthat the P/L levels could be displayed in any user-selected currency,and example embodiments are not limited to any specific currency.

In addition to displaying P/L values numerically, the P/L informationcould be also displayed graphically, as illustrated in FIG. 8. However,rather than displaying the graphical indicators corresponding to eachP/L value vertically, the thermometer type displays corresponding toeach trader are displayed horizontally. For example, bars 804 and 806display the current P/L position relative to the highest and lowest P/Lvalues during a trading day or during any other user-configurable timeperiod. More specifically, bar 804 displays the current P/L levelcompared to the lowest P/L level (represented by the left far end of thebar 804), and the bar 806 displays the current P/L level compared to thehighest P/L level (represented by the right far end of the bar 806).

In addition to displaying the overall risk data related to each trader,the graphical interface 800 could also display risk information relatedto tradeable objects being traded by each trader. In such an embodiment,the thermometer type displays corresponding to tradeable objects beingtraded by Trader 1, for example, could be displayed directly below thegraphical representation of the overall P/L values corresponding toTrader 1 illustrated in FIG. 8, for example. It should be understoodthat before the risk information is displayed using the graphicalinterface 800, a trader or a risk manager administrator could create adata space such as the one illustrated in FIG. 3. Using such atree-based data space, a trader could then easily select differentnodes, and the risk information corresponding to the selected nodescould be displayed via the graphical interface 800.

In addition to displaying profit level related information such as high,low, and current P/L levels, the graphical display could also be used todisplay other trader-related markers, such as a marker representing acertain percentage of available credit, or a marker representingallowable daily loss. Such markers could be displayed on the thermometertype displays corresponding to each trader. In an embodiment illustratedin FIG. 8, an indicator 802 may correspond to the percentage of anallowable daily loss defined for Trader 1. In the embodiment illustratedin FIG. 8, the combined length of bars 804 and 806 may correspond to100%, and a trader may define the starting point of the scale at any endpoint of the combined bars. Similar indicators are displayed in relationto the thermometer interfaces created for Traders 2-6. For example, thezero marker of the scale may be on the far right side of the bar 806. Insuch an embodiment, the position of the marker 802 indicates that Trader2 is at about 50% of the allowable daily loss. However, it should beunderstood that the scale could also be set such that the zero marker ison the far left of the bar 804, and the far right hand side of each barcorresponds to 100%. Also, rather than illustrating the allowable dailyloss, the indicators could illustrate the available credit, such as apercentage of the available credit that has been used up by a trader, ora percentage of the available credit that is still available to atrader. The markers could also indicate margin related information, suchas available credit.

However, it should be understood that more than one indicator could bedisplayed via the graphical interface, and the indicators could relateto the current as well as prior trading sessions. The trader could alsocontrol the graphical representation of each indicator and could set updifferent axis to correspond and control positions of differentindicators.

Also, preferably, the graphical display for displaying risk informationcould be configured such that a risk manager administrator, for example,could remotely access the display using any remote client device havinga browser. In such an embodiment, based on the client device being used,the display window could be formatted such that the displayed data wouldfit on a screen of the client device.

The above description of the preferred embodiments, alternativeembodiments, and specific examples, are given by way of illustration andshould not be viewed as limiting. Further, many changes andmodifications within the scope of the present embodiments may be madewithout departing from the spirit thereof, and the present inventionincludes such changes and modifications.

It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that methodsinvolved in the system and method for displaying risk information in anelectronic trading environment may be embodied in a computer programproduct that includes one or more computer readable media. For example,a computer readable medium can include a readable memory device, such asa hard drive device, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or a computer diskette, havingcomputer readable program code segments stored thereon. The computerreadable medium can also include a communications or transmissionmedium, such as, a bus or a communication link, either optical, wired orwireless having program code segments carried thereon as digital oranalog data signals.

The claims should not be read as limited to the described order orelements unless stated to that effect. Therefore, all embodiments thatcome within the scope and spirit of the following claims and equivalentsthereto are claimed as the invention.

1. A system for displaying risk data in an electronic trading environment, the system including: a client device adapted to display a data space using a tree-based structure comprising a first trader node, a second trader node, a first plurality of tradeable object nodes, and a second plurality of tradeable object nodes, wherein the first plurality of tradeable object nodes are sub-nodes of the first trader node in the tree-based structure, and wherein the second plurality of tradeable object nodes are sub-nodes of the second trader node in the tree-based structure, wherein the client device is adapted to receive risk data related to each of the trader nodes and to each of the first and second pluralities of tradeable object nodes, wherein the client device is adapted to display a two dimensional display grid comprising a plurality of display cells, wherein each of the trader nodes and each of the first and second pluralities of tradeable object nodes are mapped to a different display cell, wherein the display cells are arranged by a number of rows and a number of columns, such that there is a row corresponding to each trader node, and such that the display cells corresponding to each of the plurality of tradeable object nodes are in the same row as the display cell of the corresponding trader node, and wherein display cells associated with the first and second trader nodes correspond to an order of the first and second trader nodes in the data space, wherein the client device is adapted to display the risk data related to each of the trader nodes and to each of the first and second pluralities of tradeable object nodes within a corresponding display cell of the plurality of display cells, wherein the client device is adapted to receive through the displayed data space a drag-and-drop command to move to a new location within the tree-based structure of the displayed data space, at least one node of: (a) the first trader node, (b) the second trader node, (c) one or more nodes in the first plurality of tradable object nodes, and (d) one or more nodes in the second plurality of tradable object nodes, wherein the drag-and-drop command includes a user selecting the at least one node displayed in the data space with a user input device, dragging the selected at least one node through the displayed data space using the user input device to the new location, and dropping the dragged at least one node using the user input device at the new location, and wherein the client device is adapted to update the two dimensional display grid by rearranging the plurality of display cells in response to moving the at least one node to the new location, wherein updating the display grid rearranges the plurality of display cells to correspond to the order of the first and second trader nodes in the data space, and wherein the risk data is automatically updated on the display grid based on the rearrangement of the plurality of display cells.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first and second trader nodes are sub-nodes of an account node in the tree-based structure.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the data space and the display grid are displayed adjacent to each other.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the risk data comprises profit/loss (P/L) data.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the P/L data includes at least one of a current P/L value, a high P/L value, and a low P/L value during a predetermined time period.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the client device is adapted to display adjacent to each display cell, a thermometer display indicating a current P/L value associated with a corresponding node in relation to high and low P/L values for the corresponding node during the predetermined time period.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the risk data comprises net position data.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the client device is adapted to determine if there are unhedged positions based on the net position data, and wherein the client device is adapted to display at least one indicator in relation to at least one net position value to indicate at least one unhedged net position.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the client device is adapted to determine the unhedged positions using at least one spread ratio level applied to the net positions.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the risk data is received from at least one electronic exchange. 